Chapter 1.3 Horus of the Underworld
Horus returned to Terra aboard the The Imperator Somnium, the Emperor's personal flag ship. It was escorted by the bulk of the Sixteenth Legion's fleet, the Lunars Wolves, along side notable vessels from the Ultramarines, White Scars, and the Red Tear itself, flagship of Sanguinius of the Blood Angels. During this time Sanguinius spent more time aboard The Imperator Somnium than he did his own command ship, barely leaving the main hall where the coffin which housed Horus' mortal remains rested. The Emperor himself, along with Malcador, was hardly seen by anyone. Many assumed this was due to the preparations for the funeral, but to what was discussed remained between the Master of Mankind and his most loyal companion.
Upon their return, arrangements were made for a grand ceremony, for the first time in history almost all the Primarchs were informally requested to return to Terra. In the end, 10 of the remaining 17 Primarchs physically returned to the cradle of humanity to attend the funeral for Horus.
Of those who did not heed the call, the Lion, Jaghatai, Corvus and Magnus were excused due to handling ongoing conflicts and holding the line of the Great Crusade, but sent high ranking delegations in their place. Alpharius' Legion was present, but given the mysterious nature of the Twentieth Primarch meant no one could be certain if he was present during the events or not. It was also suggested that Alpharius and his Legion had been tasked in seeking out those responsible for the tragedy, and thus were otherwise engaged.
The only 2 Primarchs who refused the call entirely were Angron and Kurze. From Angron, all communications from Terra or its representatives were met by one of several command level offices who gave curt replies on behalf of the Primarch which amounted to little more than, "I'm doing what I've been told to do, same as Horus was." The only representatives of the World Eaters Legion were members already present on Terra, which amounted to a very poor showing in comparison to the other Legions. Despite this, there seems to have been little direct insistence from the Emperor or Malcador on the matter, perhaps being quietly glad the Twelfth Primarch and his berserkers were not present in large numbers on Terra.
As for Kurze, he, and his entire Legion, seemed to have disappeared. The other Imperial forces attached to Kurze's Legion reported around the time of Horus' death, the Eighth Legion had suddenly and inexplicably departed, vanishing without any communications. Those Night Lords left on Terra obeyed commands to join the events, but there was obvious concern amongst them that their Lord had vanished along with their entire Legion. Fulgrim and Rogal Dorn had been seen conversing about the Night Haunter after this news reached the assembled Primarchs, but what they discussed is unknown.
Despite this, with 10 Primarchs on Terra, this was the largest single gathering of the Emperor's children on the Throne World since their untimely separation many years before. The images captured there would be circled around the Imperium for years. At least, until the next tragedy occurred.
On the official day of the ceremony, the roads leading up to the Imperial Palace were completely cleared. A small Chapel on the grounds of the Imperial Palace had been specially constructed to serve as a mausoleum for Horus' body, designed in part by Rogal Dorn for practicality, with Sanguinius and Fulgrim contributing to the design aesthetics.
The precession took many hours. The entire Sixteenth Legion escorted the body, with First Captain Abaddon personally walking behind the coffin with what remained of the Justaerin. Behind them were many smaller coffins, the remains of those who had fallen on Ullanor from the Sixteenth and their support units, including one whose golden name plate read "Garviel Loken, Captain of the 10th".
Behind the Sixteenth Legion came the other Legions, the first being Ninth Legion led by Sanguinius. For Sanguinius and his Honour Guard, the typical Gold and Blood Red of their armour had been repainted black, with all iconography removed in a symbol of grief. Whilst most of the Ninth retained their Blood Red colouring, a handful of units had also been repainted black. Word spread a lottery had been held to determine which units would be recoloured in time for the procession. Had there been time Sanguinius would doubtless of repainted his entire Legion, but funerals are not a thing to be kept waiting. The Dead needed their rest.
After Sanguinius came the rest of the Primarchs and their Legions in no particular order. Malcador has personally assigned the order of which the Primarchs and Legions would follow, so if there was some significance to it then it was known only to Malcador. It was noted however that the World Eaters and Night Lords were at the rear of the procession, even behind the support unit and tribute from the Mechanicus of Mars.
As the units reached the Chapel of Dreams, the Sixteenth guided the coffin within, held aloft by the members of the Mournival that took their places as pallbearers. After this only those remainings Captains followed the coffin into the Chapel, with the rest of the Sixteenth taking up vigil outside. Those coffins of dead following behind were carried through side entrances of the Chapel to their resting places below.
One by one the other Legions arrived. The Ninth took up a secondary vigil position behind the Sixteenth, with Sanguinius standing beside the entrance to the Chapel. One by one his brothers arrived, their Legions saluting the Chapel and vigils whilst the Primarchs or their representatives one by one entered the Chapel to lay a wreath beneath the coffin of Horus. Most chose a wreath of flowers from their homeworlds. Roboute's wreath was a beautiful azure blue from the fields of Ultramar. Rogal's was a brilliant yellow gold. Fulgrims was by far the most ornate, with various hues of violet and purple, which contrasted perfectly with the wreath placed by Ferrus Manus. Some, such as Perturabo's and Mortarion's were very plain and simple, but conveyed respect for a fallen warrior.
Malcador himself, the appointed Regent of Terra, was second to last, bringing with him the wreaths of many patrons and well wishers which flooded the area around the coffin with flowers of many kinds. Placing one hand on the coffin before exiting the Chapel, the Regent of Terra was heard to say, "Rest easy now, my boy. You are beyond the cruelties of our universe now. Rest."
After all 10 of the other Primarchs and Malcador had filed into the Chapel, presented their wreathes, and then departed with their Legions, Sanguinius at last took his turn. Facing his guard, one presented a single flower with petals of both blood red and clear white, colours that perfectly matched the armour of both the Lunar Wolves and the Blood Angels. Sanguinius took this flower and walked somberly into the Chapel. Bowing before the coffin, followed by a bow to each of the captains of the Sixteenth, Sanguinius laid the single flower upon the roof of the coffin, hesitating for a moment to caress the gold nameplate embedded. Stepping back, he bowed low once more, a single tear falling from his eye onto the polished marble of the Chapel.
Rising once more and discretely wiping an armoured hand gently across his eye, Sanginius departed the Chapel, followed by the Captains of the Sixteenth. The members of the Mournival then pulled the grand doors to the Chapel shut, with First Captain Abaddon taking up watch in front of the doors. For 4 days, a different member of the Mournival would stand watch in front of the doors of the Chapel, until at last, all members of the Sixteenth were released from their duties of vigil. A single squad would be left on Terra, rotated regularly, to oversee the maintenance and security of the Chapel alongside members of the Custodes.
A service was held on the steps of the Imperial Palace, led by Sanguinius and Lorgar, which followed many of the customs and traditions of old Earth, whilst being careful not to stray into anything considered religious. During the entire service the watchful eyes of Malcador were fixed on Lorgar, as were those of Roboute Guilliman. Many tributes were given by those who had served alongside Horus, fond memories and lost opportunities. Both the Funeral and the Services were recorded and displayed far and wide across the Imperium, shown on many worlds who would later hold their own days of mourning and services of grief in honour of the Emperor's fallen son.
It was said the Emperor himself, missing from these events, had a private service held at the Chapel several days later, but this was never confirmed.
The first of the Primarchs would depart a day after the ceremony, Perturabo, followed a day later by Mortarion. Lorgar and Vulkan departed together and seemed to be sharing much in the way of conversations about historical burial traditions to ensure respect of the dead. Whilst the pair had never had much in the way of connections before, this death seemed to have brought them a little closer together. Vulkan seemed most distraught when Lorgar spoke more about the events on Monarchia and all that had transpired there by the forces of Ultramar.
The last to depart, after a month, would be Fulgrim and Roboute's Dauntless Few. During this time Fulgrim would be dubbed an 'honourary member' of the Dauntless Few, though it was thought by Russ and Rogal this was done mostly to appease Ferrus Manus since Fulgrim had made it clear he would not be departing Terra until his brother did. Few put much stock in Roboute and his grand proclaimations of the Dauntless Few, but it was clear Ferrus would not allow his favourite brother to be excluded from any gatherings Roboute called, something Sanguinius publicly and privately backed him on.
Many long conversations would be held by the brothers long into the night over the course of that month, none more as deep than about Horus' position as Warmaster, and who would be his successor.
